Press room
SeedBlink launches ESOP Design program to help Bulgarian entrepreneurs reward their employees through shares, in collaboration with Gugushev & Partners
tailored to the specific legal and tax environment in Bulgaria.
Adding on to the benefits of the introduction of Variable Capital Company (VCC), this launch will further simplify the setup and management of employee ownership plans for local startups.
Previously restricted to the senior management of public multinationals, ESOPs today are becoming an integral part of startup benefits and/or bonus packages.
Sofia, April 2, 2024 - SeedBlink, in collaboration with Gugushev & Partners Law Office, announced today the launch of ESOP Design, an all-in-one solution developed for the first time in Bulgaria for startups that want to integrate employee equity compensation into their growth strategy.
This program simplifies the process of creating and managing Employee Stock Option Plans (ESOPs) for Bulgarian companies by leveraging the experience of legal, tax, and digital management specialists, providing founders with the tools and expertise to implement effective ESOPs tailored to Bulgaria's specific legal and tax environment.
The ESOP Design partnership aligns with SeedBlink's strategic commitment to promote equity ownership in Europe. In 2024, SeedBlink is intensifying its efforts to scale equity management platform Nimity, simplifying the stock option plans, funding process and investor communication.
In Bulgaria, this launch will further simplify the process for starting companies adding on to the benefits from the efforts of local institutions to promote flexibility with the recent changes to the Commercial Law, i.e. the introduction of the new legal entity - Variable Capital Company (VCC), which will facilitate capital changes based on the company’s corporate development, including employees receiving shares.
"The desire to involve employees in the success of startups is more relevant than ever. ESOP Design addresses this need by making it easier for businesses to set up, launch and manage employee ownership plans, thereby attracting, engaging, and motivating top-performing talent.” says Angel Hadjiev, SEE Director at SeedBlink.
Restricted to the senior management of the largest public multinationals until recently in Bulgaria, ESOPs today also positively impact the startup’s image in the eyes of potential investors and encourage employees to giveback to the ecosystem.
”By cultivating ESOPs into the startup ecosystem, we are aligning interests and nurturing the next generation of business angels in Europe. We plan to expand the concept with partners in more European countries in the coming months.” adds Angel Hadjiev
Victor Gugushev, Senior Partner at Gugushev & Partners, states, "ESOPs fosters a culture of accountability, retain skilled professionals, and bolster entrepreneurship. The ESOP Design program is designed to make the content of such a program understandable and to simplify its creation, implementation and management. We are happy to contribute to SeedBlink and Nimity's strategic goal."
ESOP Design: simplifying employee participation
Bulgarian entrepreneurs interested in the ESOP Design initiative can attend in a webinar on April 18, 5PM (free entry, register here). They will explore the impact that Employee Stock Option Plans (ESOPs) can have on company culture and growth. It will also provide an opportunity for industry professionals and leaders to discuss fostering a culture of success and innovation within their organisations.
Since launching its equity management solution, Nimity, last June, SeedBlink brought over 10,000 company representatives and shareholders onto the platform. In addition, it has efficiently integrated over 2,500 company capitalization tables and facilitated ESOPs for over 500 beneficiaries. These accomplishments support SeedBlink's positioning as the only European platform that combines financing, equity management and secondary transactions for private equity into a single ecosystem.
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About SeedBlink
SeedBlink's mission is to simplify and grow equity ownership in Europe. Through its range of products, financial services, and extensive network, it offers an equity management and tech-focused venture investment platform that enables European startups and their stakeholders to access, manage, and trade equity.
SeedBlink SA is registered in the Register of the Romanian Financial Supervisory Authority (ASF), under number PJR28FSFPR/400001 as of November 3, 2022, with an EU passport as per the European Securities and Market Authority (ESMA) register of crowdfunding service providers. Contact us by email: hello@seedblink.com.
About Gugushev & Partners
Gugushev & Partners is a leading law firm that through provision of high-quality legal services and unique business-oriented approach grew to highly recognized on the Bulgarian market by international legal directories, businesses and peers on both local and international level. Their team finds the optimal solutions and innovative ways to achieve effective results and has worked with many starting companies from their incorporation, to decisions on expansion, mergers and acquisitions or sale.
PublishedApril 04, 2024
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Tudor Goicea
Co-founder of Aqurate
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As a startup founder, I am happy to witness SeedBlink’s dedication to expanding their support for early-stage companies beyond funding, towards a healthy equity management via Nimity. A solution to help better navigate relations with stakeholders, employees and future investors is needed in Europe. Less admin work and bringing transparency to the cap table are immediate benefits I was able to test.
Delia Iliasa
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SeedBlink is a transparent solution that connects entrepreneurs with great business plans, with investors, at different stages in their development. It is a great tool for us, a democratization of access to funding, I would say.
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We immediately clicked with the SeedBlink team as their fundraising expertise was immediately obvious and their no-nonsense approach really appealed to us. After all, fundraising is only a means to an end, and we liked how the SeedBlink team was really focusing on supporting us and on getting things done.
Mihai Darzan
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Our main expectation has been to raise the amount we were aiming for, and both rounds launched on Seedblink exceeded our targets, so we’re very happy with that! Even though the launched funding campaigns have been purely crowdfunding rounds, we are thrilled to actually receive extra support from some of the investors, who have chosen to get involved and help us generate product awareness, whenever they can.
Catalin Mester
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Dragoș Iliescu
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In the early stages, we have been funded by several early (angel) investors, and one and a half year ago through an equity crowdfunding campaign on SeedBlink. Of course, this impacted our growth in many positive ways, partly due to the cash influx that, evidently, was sorely needed, but in a larger part due to the fact that our responsibility towards our shareholders has become more stringent and explicit, becoming embodied in our market approach.
Costin Tudor
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Given the accelerated growth we observed at the end of last year and the beginning of 2021, we want a new capitalization, quickly. This is a bridge round that we will use for one year, and the advantages that SeedBlink offers are the speed at which we were able to list for financing and the experience that we gain as a result of this public listing, similar to a listing on the stock exchange.
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